6 Superfoods You Might Want to Reconsider

by Megan O. Steintrager

on 12/28/13 at 02:00 PM

It turns out all "superfoods" might not be so super after all. Here are six foods touted for their miraculous benefits you might want to think twice about--some are useless, some are questionable, and some might be downright dangerous.

1. Raw Milk: Proponents of raw milk say it can help with digestion, prevent asthma and allergies, and even fight cancer (see RealMilk.com for one group's take on the benefits of unpasturized dairy). But, as has now been widely reported, on December 16 the American Academy of Pedriatrics issued a statement urging pregnant women and children not to drink raw milk products and calling for a ban on raw milk products because consuming them can lead to severe illnesses.

3. Wheatgrass: If you've ever done a shot of wheatgrass, you know most people aren't drinking it for its flavor benefits. And according to an article on not-so-super foods in the Australian magazine Women's Health and Fitness, while wheatgrass has wide range of nutrients, " it doesn’t contain particularly high levels of any particular nutrient so does not stand up to the superfood test and is not considered superior to any other green vegetable."

4. Sea Salt: It's true that sea salt contains trace minerals such as magnesium, potassium, and calcium. It's also true that it can be tastier and make for a more attractive presentation than regular old table salt. But the American Heart Association says many of us are missing an important fact: sea salt contains as much sodium as table salt. In other words, it's only super if used sparingly.

5. Coconut Oil: Celebs like Dr. Oz tout the health benefits of coconut oil for thyroid function, cholesterol levels, brain health, weight loss, and more. But other experts say you shouldn't start downing coconut oil by the gallon or replacing all your olive oil with it. "Most of the research so far has consisted of short-term studies to examine its effect on cholesterol levels," Dr. Walter C. Willett wrote several years ago in an article in The Harvard Health Letter. His advice: Use it sparingly until we know more about its benefits. If you do want to cook with coconut oil, be sure it's unhydrogenated and keep in mind that like all oils, it has a lot of calories--especially important to note if you're using it as a weight-loss aid.

6. Antioxidant-Fortified Foods: While there are products aplenty fortified with all sorts of super-sounding ingredients, as I pointed out earlier this year in Can You Overdose on Antioxidants? the safest, healthiest, and tastiest approach to healthy eating is to consume a wide range of real, unprocessed foods, especially plants--those we know are super, those that might be super, and those that we might find out are super down the line.

This website http://healthimpactnews.com/2011/cdc-admits-no-one-has-died-from-drinking-raw-milk-in-last-11-years/ addresses facts that the CDC has difficulty proving that raw milk is responsible for a claim they made that two people died from consuming raw milk between 1998-2008. Apparently they died from an unpasteurized dairy product, queso fresco (a soft fresh cheese that isn’t legal under FDA regulations requiring a minimum 60 day aging period), made from raw milk. This may seem like splitting hairs, but the lethality could easily have come from its aging process, not the original product.

What seems critical to highlight is this:

Three people died after drinking pasteurized milk in MA in 2007. There were 1300 people sickened in 2006 from pasteurized milk in CA.

These are a fraction of the pasteurized milk illness/death statistics.

We buy raw milk from friends who run a very small organic farm. I will admit that I would need to know who I was buying my raw dairy from, because their practices need to be transparent and consistent (just as bigger, pasteurizers should be). I personally believe that, when the scale is small and the practices are clean, that preserving the integrity of food is always the right choice.

It took us a long time to recognize that hydrogenating oils was detrimental and the odd-balls advocating we keep eating butter were seen as just that. It is not really a surprise that the hydrogenating process benefitted producers because it exponentially prolongs shelf life. Unfortunately, hydrogenating oils has harmed millions of kids and adults who grew up on hydrogenated peanut butter and margerine. Pasteurization is not an identical analogy, but its not a stretch to see its role has been secured by large scale, multi-farm sources to make the CDC feel they can sleep at night (but they shouldn't be, according to statistics like those above related to deaths/illness from PASTEURIZED milk). If there IS a contamination present in a milk truck that picks up milk from multiple dairies, how is that going to be traced? Better to cook it all.

The date, time and name of the cow my milk came from is on my sterilized glass bottle. Is yours? Also I am making an informed decision to purchase and consume raw milk. Should anyone really have a right to tell me I can't? Is someone going to come in my kitchen and tell me how long I should cook my egg yolks next?

ash2lar
06:01:40 PM on
09/14/14

I love milk and will only buy organic local pasteurized milk, and only whole milk. I have tasted both raw goat milk and cows milk and the taste is richer, creamier and delicious. I can definitely taste the difference between ultra pasteurized and pasteurized milk- the extra processing destroys the taste.
Coconut oil is delicious and filling, used in moderation I feel there are definite health benefits. I use it as my favorite facial moisturizer. I also take it daily in capsules.
Ginkgo can be dangerous for people on blood thinners or daily ASA.
Bottom line I think when it comes to unpasteurized dairy- people should be able to make their own choices and know the possible risks involved.

OpTiX2100
10:26:04 AM on
07/19/14

This article is biased and extremely poorly researched. To try to assert something so radical without citations (merely citing other sites and magazines) is bold at best, but in reality, foolish. An embarrassing post for Epicurious.com for sure...

AWalterscheid
04:01:20 PM on
07/13/14

This article is poorly researched, misleading and dated.

lichinut
12:48:35 PM on
07/04/14

I was horrified reading his article, and can't imagine where the author found such negative propaganda against very, very good foods that provide nutrition, energy and even neurological help.
Coconut oil removes brain plaque and reverses Alzheimer's. You can google that until kingdom come and will find hundreds if not thousands of articles about the antibiotics that are contained in coconut oil. Space doesn't permit me to go on and on about it.

From an ex-dairy herd tester: In all my years in the past, as a dairy herd tester going once a month to different farms to test the milk, I never had to work in a shed which was so filthy, that the conditions lead me to think, “Eeuuuwww, I’d not want to drink THAT milk”. Farmers aren’t stupid. The farmers I worked for, want to have good reputations and make a living, and be respected in society. I can’t imagine that shed “hygiene” would be any less today, than it was in 1980, because every bad daily test costs the farmer money.

One of the cleanest sheds I ever tested in was a timeless walk-through shed with no yard, no fences, old Gerber machines, run by a retired couple of brothers. Their cows came by themselves, and walked up to milk on being called by name. I was amazed – and taken aback - at it’s “basicness” and simplicity, and yet – of all the sheds I went, this shed was the cleanest of them all. My only problem working there was slimey Jersey cows noses physically investigating everything around my car and trailer resulting in the need to fence off my car and trailer….

The one shed I hated testing in the most, was a very advanced rotary shed, where my chances of being “shat” on, was a regular nightmare.

But in health terms, pasteurisation, does not necessarily mean “better”. In terms of cheese for instance, pasteurisation certainly means to me, “bland” and “uniform”. And there is no doubt in my mind that the body is far more able to ”use” unpasteurised milk and cheese, than pasteurised. I’ve lost count of the number of people I’ve met who can drink unpasteurised milk and eat unpasteurised cheese, but goods bought from the supermarket cause problems.

The reason I like drinking unpasteurised milk, and eating unpasteurised cheese, is because both taste so much better. By comparison, shop bought is “thin”, lacking body and character. Value for money it is not…., in my opinion. Pasteurised altered and mangled dairy “acceptable” to most, because they know no different. Some commercial milk is SO thin, and bears so little resemblance to “real” milk, that’s is a wonder how people get conned into parting with so much money for something that tastes like white water.

When we lived in the country, the children loved their unpasteurised milk and cheese, but when we shifted into a city, they could taste the difference, and would NOT drink milk. They only drank it “concealed” or, when we were able to access “the real thing”. It wasn’t until organic whole milk started to be sold (albeit it pasteurised – NOT homogenised…) that the children started drinking it again regularly.

And what are anti-xidant fortified foods? Anything that is fortified should be met with a bronze crucifix. Away foul demon!

this article was incredible ignorant and offensive.

2nLi10
07:43:53 PM on
06/19/14

I am a bit disappointed with this article as it is a bit thin on real information something I find more and more on websites such as epicurious.

First let me begin by saying I do not like the term "superfood" as what is usually described is actually a normal food item usually fresh fruits or vegetables.

Let’s begin with Raw Milk. This debate may be better if it was about milk consumption vs non-consumption although that is a whole different argument. A majority of the world's population is unable to digest milk. That being said, any time you can consume any food as close to its natural state the better it would be for your body. If the facts were actually investigated one would find that small organic or “raw” dairy farms are likely to be inspected more often than large dairy farms. As for the American Academy of Pediatrics recommendation that pregnant women and /or children should refrain from consuming raw milk this can also be said about a number of foodstuffs and other items including cosmetics and over the counter medicine.

I have never checked out the information I have seen about the memory enhancing and other beneficial effects of Gingko Biloba but my pause with this article is its mention of a single study mentioning a possible cancer link. If we stayed away from any item be it food or an herb because of a single study or test we would not be able to consume anything found on this planet.

The knock on wheatgrass is unwarranted just for the fact that “it is not better than any other green” vegetable available. This may be true but again I have heard the qualities of the wheat grass juice may allow its rapid assimilation by our bodies which actually may refute the assertion of this article. Just because a food may have many nutrients or vitamins if our bodies can’t use those nutrients then they are of little use to our overall wellbeing and diet.

Sea salt is un-contestably better than table salt. The mention in this article that salt consumption overall is inherently unhealthy is true but I know of no one , even those that consume fast food as a regular diet choice, that would consider salt as a superfood. If one is going to have salt in their household at the very least make it sea salt.

The recommendation about not rushing out to consume vast quantities of coconut oil is a valid one. I too like a wait and see attitude about studies and diet fads. I consume olive oil almost exclusively and it has proven to be a tried and true healthful oil choice. Consumption of a large amount of fat is not best for us but if you are going to fry with an oil you need to choose a fat that can withstand the high smoke point this type of cooking involves. Coconut oil is much better than olive oil in this aspect. Learn the benefits and negatives about the different fat or oil choices available and use the correct oil for the type of cooking or non-cooking you are doing.

As for the last point I agree wholeheartedly. Please consume only fresh, preferably in season, quality food. Grow your own to avoid pesticides and try to support your organic farmer or local farmers market. Know where your food comes from and how it is handled or processed. Do not eat “food” out of a box.

In conclusion I do not like lists or stories like this one as most people will only look at the headlines and not investigate further the truths behind headlines or quick blurbs. At the very least provide links for further information. Always encourage your readers to investigate all claims whether good or bad, as informed persons are then empowered to make better decisions for themselves.